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It seems the rumours surrounding Wayne Gretzky becoming the next president of the Washington Capitals have been drawn back.

The possibilities for Capitals fans, though, were intriguing: Gretzky taking over command of the team that struggled with in-fighting this season, with Doug MacLean becoming Gretzky’s GM.

According to reports on Monday, Gretzky was said to be “very interested” in heading to the U.S. capital to take over the reigns of the club. It would have been Gretzky’s first management position in hockey since he vacated the coaching post with the Phoenix Coyotes in 2009 in a cloud of controversy over the team’s then financial mess that included several million dollars owed to Gretzky.

At any rate, Gretzky may still be available — two GM and five coaching jobs remain open in the NHL. Somewhere in that mix, a team might create an executive over-seer job for Gretzky, the way the Leafs did with Brendan Shanahan.

Just having Gretzky back in the NHL in any capacity would be a thrilling prospect for the league.

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But Gretzky’s post-player career in the NHL was not always a smooth one.

Here’s a look at the pros and cons of hiring hockey’s greatest player and persona:

Pro

Instant credibility: Gretzky has it, and any team that hires him would exponentially upgrade their profile, marketing and ticket sales, among other things.

Credibility around league: Gretzky, who is good friends with Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, undoubtedly has impeccable credentials with owners and other power brokers around the league. And you can throw in international ties as well — he’s still the most recognizable figure hockey has ever produced.

Gretzky, said to have a personal worth of $220 million, also has extensive ties with sponsors and other endorsement companies. He is said to be conservative, signing during his career only with the companies he previously had relationships with. But he could almost certainly improve any team’s sponsorship and corporate profile.

Two of Gretzky’s higher profile business ventures are Wayne Gretzky’s Restaurant in Toronto and Gretzky Estates Wines — would he extend those franchises to the city that hired him ?

He has ownership experience in junior hockey and the CFL (Argos), and has been on the board of several hockey related companies. His business acumen would only help the NHL.

Cons

It was believed the Gretzky-to-Washington rumours dissipated by a lack of an immediate response from the Capitals. That was partly based, according to rumoyrs again, on the possibility Gretzky priced himself out of the running in Washington. Gretzky put up with frustration and a long ownership and sale controversy in Phoenix; it’s not likely he’s going to come aboard an NHL team and leave himself similarly exposed to any financial pit falls.

Gretzky’s luck was periodically bad with owners he was involved with: Peter Pocklington (Edmonton) and Bruce McNall (Argos) went bankrupt. Not everything he touched turned to gold.

Intimidation? Gretzky was not the most successful NHL coach (143-161-24 career coaching record), and naturally, part of that was explained away by the fact it was impossible for any player to live up to his legend. How Gretzky would pan out in terms of his involvement with the hockey operations decisions of any team that hires him is an obvious and delicate detail.

Gretzky, as GM of Team Canada, had great success (2002 Olympic Gold) and great disappointment (no medal in Turin 2006). He was also part of Vancouver’s successful Olympic bid in 2010, joining the presentation team in the Czech Republic and was one of four final torch bearers that lit the Olympic flame.

There has always been an immense focus and pressure on him during his entire playing and executive career, and that wouldn’t change if he were to return to hockey.

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